10
votes
Accepted
Meaning of 则 in 欲速则不达？
欲 －－ willing, want
速 －－ speedy, quick
则 －－ then, but
不 －－ not, negative
达 －－ arrive, done
If you want to finish it quicker, then you probably can't get it done (correctly).
- 1,307
10
votes
Accepted
How to use / translate "as well as" in next sentences?
as well as: 和；以及；如同；像...一樣；既...又...；
Depends on the context, you can choose a suitable one.
We go to play football today as well as every sunday morning.
和每周日上午一樣，我們今天也去踢足球。
我們今天和每周日上午一樣去踢足球。
We go ...
- 1,599
9
votes
Accepted
Gender and age neutral word for partner (not married) in Mandarin?
恋人 perfectly fits your need, its gender and age neutral, and can be used in formal settings.
情人 somehow fits your need, but is not as good, because it could also mean an extramarital lover, which may ...
- 1,753
9
votes
How to say "obscene": translate 下流 or 輕佻?
'Obscene' is not 下流(no class/ bad taste) or 輕佻 (frivolous)
One definition of obscene is 不堪入目 , it is used to describe perverted, immoral act or behavior
For example: Taking a child from his mother ...
- 77.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the preferred relationship title for "my mother's mother's big brother's son"?
You can use '表舅', because he is your mother's '表哥'.
Basically I think there are three prefixes that you can add to relationship words: '亲' (directly/closely related, which is usually omitted), '堂', '...
- 837
8
votes
Accepted
8
votes
Accepted
Need help translating a few words
五羊牌
牌: brand.
五羊(five sheeps) is the brand name.
广州市
Guangzhou City
广州制帽厂
Guangzhou hat factory
出品
produced, product
规格
specification
Reasonably, the whole thing in English might become ...
- 1,404
8
votes
Accepted
Use of 还 in reference to "on top of that, also"
还 ( hái ㄏㄞˊ )
(7) 更加 [even more]。
(9) 不但(不仅,不光)…还… [not only ...... but also]。
In the economic sense, good ideas can increase productivity, and can also produce new innovations and inventions.
...
- 1,511
8
votes
Accepted
Chinese names for zeptoseconds and yoctoseconds
Zeptoseconds = 仄普托秒 / 仄秒 / (Taiwan Guoyu: 介秒)
仄（仄普托）= zepto-
Yoctoseconds = 幺科托秒 / 幺秒 / (Taiwan Guoyu: 攸秒)
幺（幺科托） = yocto-
The shortened forms, i.e.: 仄秒 & 幺秒 are probably more accessible than ...
Mou某♦
- 35.7k
7
votes
Is there a word for "kosher"?
The 2010 book "Jews and Judaism in Modern China", by M. Avrum Ehrlich, translates kosher as jieshi.
Both the Pleco and KTdict iOS apps also offer 洁食（＊jieshi*) as a translation for kosher.
- 71
7
votes
Accepted
What words are used in Taiwan for a place or person that mends clothing?
We don't use 補 or 縫補 in Taiwan. We use 修改衣服 instead.
When you like to get the clothes mended, you should find the 修改衣服/換拉鏈 (Modify clothes/Change zippers) signs as follows.
We still call the person ...
- 1,599
7
votes
What are the characters for "qiu qiu", which means: "check this out"
My guess is:
瞧瞧
qiaoˊ qiaoˊ
When spoken in dialog you may hear qiaoˊ qiao˙, meaning they want you to take a look at something.
Here are some examples.
- 324
7
votes
Accepted
What are the characters for "qiu qiu", which means: "check this out"
Should be 瞅瞅, can be chou or qiu based on where you are in the northern China. This should be considered as a dialect rather than standard Mandarin.
- 2,679
6
votes
Accepted
What do you call a 成语 made up of three words instead of four?
No surprise here, they are called 三字成语 (three-letter 成语). However the words in your question are usually not considered 成语, they are 俗语. 三字成语 do exist, though, such as 破天荒, 莫须有, and 闭门羹.
- 221
6
votes
What do you call your father's twin brother?
How about 伯叔? That is an actual thing when you don't want to specify the age.
See here:
https://www.moedict.tw/%E4%BC%AF%E5%8F%94
- 512
6
votes
Accepted
How do you say 头大 in English?
頭大 figuratively means to be distressed/overwhelmed/worried. In English, the equivalent word is the figurative headache.
英語太難了，學得我頭大
English is too difficult; studying it is (too overwhelming) / (...
- 22.2k
5
votes
Expressing 'about' in Chinese
[About + adjective phrase]= [有关 + adjective phrase + 的] or [关于 + adjective phrase + 的]
'My teacher taught us (knowledge) about Chinese'
我老师教我们有关中文的 (知识)
'Chinese'(中文) is a part of the adjective ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
"Whatever you can do today, don't postpone it to tomorrow"
"Whatever you can do today, don't postpone it to tomorrow"
This common Chinese saying may had the same origin as the quote in the question:
"今天的事今天做"
"Don't put off till ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Accepted
5
votes
Accepted
How do I write "One can ..." / "You can ..." (general personal pronoun) in Chinese?
Which personal pronouns can I use in an instruction in Chinese to replace the English "one"
user3306356's answer did not answer this question. Yes, the subject (or it's pronouns) can be ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Accepted
How to say "head" and "tails" when flipping a coin?
Chinese use 正反 more than US people use obverse/reverse.
Other words are 花/字, but the side is controversial.
The side of 中华人民共和国 is 正面, but many many people think 1元 is 正面, this would be more ...
- 6,247
5
votes
Accepted
How to say "make money"?
生产纸币: to manufacture paper money/ to produce paper money
制造纸币: to make paper money / to produce paper money
发行纸币: to issue paper money
印制纸币: to print paper money
米凯乐 wrote: 宋朝用了这个发明做纸钱
It should be ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Is there an expression similar to the English "gut feeling" in Chinese?
The word for intuition or gut feeling is usually just rendered:
直觉
New Century English-Chinese also defines gut feeling:
NOUN
直觉(相对于基于事实的观点)
Mou某♦
- 35.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Cant find the characters to a phrase I heard growing up, "Gen Men", used as "totally" or "definitely"
You are probably looking for the word 根本 (gen1 ben3) which means "completely" in your context.
- 781
5
votes
How can I say "grade on a curve"?
It is called 标准分. Its opposite is called 原始分.
标准分 is the modified score according to the distribution of the score in the class.
Its calculation method might be different from curved scores, but the ...
- 2,606
5
votes
How do I use 乱?
乱 (adv): arbitrarily
on the basis of random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
without restraint in the use of authority; autocratically.
Example:
乱花錢 = spend money ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Quenching thirst by thinking about plums
望梅止渴 wàng méi zhǐ kě lit. to quench one"s thirst by thinking of plums (idiom), fig. to console oneself with illusions
The expression is a chengyu (成语, cheng2yu3).
There's a story behind it: in the ...
- 1,530
4
votes
Accepted
How is this commode style toilet seat called in Chinese?
坐便椅 can be the name you want, in a decent way.
In addition you can find it in Aliexpress. Some big pharmacies also offer these.
- 139
4
votes
Accepted
phrase request: complexity of interpersonal relationships
A common phrase for 'complex' is 錯綜複雜
It can be used to describe:
Relational complexity
Example: 人際關係錯綜複雜 (interpersonal relationships are complex)
Example: 兩人的關係錯綜複雜 (the relationship between the ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Accepted
成语 for expressing that a couple was meant for eachother
佳偶天成 (a perfect couple that's made by heaven)
天生一對 (born to be a perfect couple)
天造地設 (a perfect couple created by heaven)
天賜良緣 (a perfect marriage that was grant by the Heaven )
The_Anomaly wrote:...
- 77.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible